OSAmag84

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 4
Map of Applecross
Approaching Applecross, the Chapel comes into view and
next is Applecross House which has a Walled Garden and
Potting Shed Café and Restaurant where it was decided to
have some lunch and have a walk around the Gardens.
Afterwards, it was a short drive into the village where the
hotel is and locally referred to as The Street, not Applecross.
Applecross refers to the whole of the peninsula or parish
including all the villages and hamlets from Milltown to
Toscaig. A main attraction here is a beach only two miles
distance and with sand sledging and swimming and great for
picnics. The Applecross campsite also provides a café and a
flower tunnel. Only about 200 people live in the whole of this
peninsula which has really only been accessible in the last
forty years!
The departure from the village of Applecross was the only
original route of access to this remote settlement and the one
most people from the south would approach this amazing
location! Travelling east, the road immediately starts to climb
being just over one car width with passing places every so often,
with some steep sections and sharp bends before arriving at the
top of Bealach na Ba, the Pass of the Cattle, at a height of 2,053
feet above sea level and is the most spectacular pass in Scotland.
Here there is a car park and a good viewing place before
making the descent eastwards to Loch Kishorn. The start down
gives magnificent views where one can see the whole route
from the top of the pass to the bottom. On this side there are
a number of very sharp hairpin bends like passes in the Alps as
the descent is made with gradients of one in five, 20%. It is one
of the three highest roads in Scotland. As one reaches below
the hairpin bends there is a good view of the truncated spurs
and the fine ‘U’ shaped valley far below, in the floor of the valley.
Five miles long is the road to take us down to Loch Kishorn.
What an experience!
Arriving at the A896 and turning right the road passes
through the hamlet of Kishorn and on to the village of
Truncated spurs seen on the way
down from the Pass of the Cattle
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